Electrical interposers are devices that may be utilized to form one or more electrical connections between a first device and a second device. As used herein, electrical interposers also may be referred to as interposers, and an electrical connection formed by an interposer may be referred to as an electrical interface. The interposers may include any shape that is suitable for forming the electrical interface and may form any suitable number of electrical connections.
Interposers may be utilized in a wide variety of applications where an electrical interface between the first device and the second device is desired. As an illustrative, non-exclusive example, the interposer may be utilized to form a temporary electrical interface between the first device and the second device. As another illustrative, non-exclusive example, the interposer may be utilized to form a permanent, or at least substantially permanent, electrical interface between the first device and the second device.
The construction, specifications, and/or dimensions of the interposer may vary, such as depending upon the particular application for and/or use of the interposer. As an illustrative, non-exclusive example, the interposer may be utilized to form an electrical connection between a probe head that forms a portion of a test system and a device under test (DUT), such as an integrated circuit device and/or chip. As another illustrative, non-exclusive example, the interposer may be utilized between adjacent components, tiers, or other layers of a stacked, or 3-D, integrated circuit device and/or chip.
As the dimensions of the individual components that comprise integrated circuit devices and/or the dimensions of the chip itself continue to decrease, precise control of the dimensional stability of the interposer and/or the contact forces between the interposer and the device under test become increasingly important. Similarly, as integrated circuit devices become increasingly complicated, such as through the inclusion of many and/or more complex individual layers of circuitry therein, an ability of the interposer to provide for increased height variation among a plurality of contact pads that may be present on the surface of the device under test, which also may be referred to herein as a vertical compliance of the interposer, may become increasingly important. Thus, there exists a need for electrical interposers that may provide improved vertical compliance, contact force control, and/or dimensional stability.